A Stitch Away From Making a Scar...

Sitting upon a wooden stool, Luca let her mottled brown, inquisitive eyes wander from the old cracked pottery to look over at her family. Her brother, Chase, was slumped in the old, wooden rocking chair that had stood in it’s place beside the elegant stain glass windows ever since her grandmother had lived here and now it did still, even after her death. Luca could remember back to a time when the oak chair had been the near constant home in a home to her Grandmother Roselyn of whom Rose had originally been named after.
Funnily enough, Rose and Grandmother Rosalyn had always been so unalike, in both appearance and personality. This even proved more obvious considering that Rose had now begun pacing the room, her expensive converse shoes hitting the old cobblestone floor as she waited impatiently for a text.
“God, stop drooling into your bowl, Dopey. Unless you actually want to clean the fucking thing,” Rose hissed at Luca, pulling her out of her doe eyed trance.
Rose had already gone back to pacing again, being the impatient person she was. Luca watched with a slightly amused smile as Rose flung her golden mane out across one slender shoulder, letting it drape down over her chest. Deciding to just go ahead and get ready, Luca got herself up and moved with fluid, soft footsteps towards her little fortress. She ducked her head to walk through the multi-coloured streamers that hung like a door for her… well, door. Her ears had instantly tuned in to listen to the familiar sound of the bells ringing on the streamers; disturbed by her arrival.
Reaching out a hand to grab one of her latest artworks without looking, she heard something fall to the ground. Turning around, she looked down to see a handful of bright neon orange pieces of paper stapled to each other. Bending over in curiosity, she picked them up to look at them better.
Ice rink tickets? Of course, they did expire in a few days but still. With the week she had ahead, she could really only make it if she went today. It was only the first day of school and she already had trouble seeing either of her siblings bothering to go anyway.
Whatever, she’d just ditch and go ice skating. It was heaps more fun anyway. Deciding who she would invite was the hard part. From experience though, she knew Ashton would know who to call on. Picking up her phone, she let her mind wander a bit as it connected. Ashton’s familiar and neurotic voice through the phone woke her from her daze and she shook herself and smiled.
“Hey, Luca?” his voice crackled curiously on the other end. “Why are you calling me? Is something wrong?”
“Omigod, ice skating,” she told him excitedly.
“What?”
His confusion was to be expected given that Luca had a habit of speaking her mind and just expecting anyone to know what she was talking about. Biting her lip, she ran back to her room so lie back in the pillows.
“Well?” she inquired, with a smile in her voice.
Ashton just laughed a bit on the other end and called out something that sounded like a muffled, ‘ice skating, mum.’ Moving back to the receiver, he gave a sigh. “Okay, sure. Sounds fun. Do you have tickets though?”
“Duh,” Luca rolled her eyes and clicked the phone to hang up abruptly as Ashton was about to respond.
Pawing through her wardrobe and pushing her hangers aside to find something to wear, she ended up just grabbing her long sleeved black swing dress, pulling a crimson red bowler hat over her head .
Feet skipping against the concrete gutter of the road, she hummed softly to herself as she walked. Ashton’s house was close and she didn’t hesitate at the door, simply letting herself in as she knew she was welcome to.
Adam lay against the couch, his eyes pinned to the TV screen in unfaltering determination and his thumbs poised over the game consol. Even after seeing him pretty much all the time over the past few years being friends with Ash, she had never seemed to have actually thought fondly towards him. Honestly, he was sort of a douche.
Valissity’s door was open and the girl was sat in the corner of her room, with her knees drawn to her chin and her fingers white from gripping each other so tight. Eyes wide and almost glassy, she just stared ahead unseeingly. Luca hesitated at the door, biting her lip before continuing into the room.
Jumping slightly, Valissity just blinked really fast and took a breath. “Oh,” she tried a laugh and her breath hitched a bit. “Hi, Luca. What are you even doing here?”
Eyes narrowing, Luca just set herself down in a crossed legged position in front of Valissity with a smile. “So…?” she bit her lip again, in thoughts. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”
This was Luca’s style. She danced around the issue with obstacles and little nudges, never actually asking the real question and instead leaving it up to Valissity to tell her what was wrong herself if she really wanted to.
“It’s a little less crowded down here,” Val joked, smiling a little sadly. “Are you and Ash going to school?”
“Oh,” she blinked, smiling suddenly. “Yeah, we’re not. If you don’t like crowds though… maybe you wanna come ice-skating?”
The door swung open slowly and Ash appeared in the doorway, his eyes worried and his fingers restless, tightening into fists. The entire subject of Valissity had been touchy for ages and it seemed even more so to be in this small space.
He gave a sweet smile though. “Val?” he inquired. “Um, you’re okay, right?”
“She’s coming with us!” Luca exclaimed, jumping up to swing her arms around Ash and laugh, her happiness shining off her words and easing the stress he couldn’t help but gather around Val and her shaky hands, her tired eyes.
Adam had already left for school and taken the bus so his car was in the driveway. The only one with a car, he was also the only prospective lender of his vehicle they could really think of. Val could drive. She’d just decided to purchase a motorbike instead of the car she’d been saving up for in light of recent changes. A lot of things she did had been altered by her new condition. Everything was reckless, everything was thoughtless.
Like her hair. Stress, they’d thought. Also the chemicals, the bleach, had really just destroyed her hair and turned it to a dark white colour that looked awful and had only been a reminded of the pain she’d gone through; so she had one day just gone out and come home again with a crop of newly dyed pink hair that bounced like bubble-gum.
“Come on,” she gestured, smiling. “We can take Adam’s car. He won’t mind.”
Shrugging, Luca just climbed in to move to the window seat and rest her head against the window. Hesitant, Ash just looked at her. “Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean, Adam would kill me if anything happened.”
Grinning wildly, Val rolled her eyes. “Oh relax,” she laughed. “Come on, get in. We’re going ice-skating for god’s sake. Not to a funeral.”
Nobody seemed to notice how ill of choice her words had been and Ash just gave in finally, heaving a sigh. Besides, it was Val’s happiness that was most important to him at the moment and the same was so to Adam as well. Everyone would be happy that she was happy. He bet that nobody would ever even mention the car.